NYAPRS Note: SAMHSA is investigating solutions to the conversation—wrought nationally in competing congressional legislation on mental health—about how to serve individuals who do not seek or access mental health services effectively. Harvey is working on one of the stakeholder groups brought together to look at recovery-oriented solutions and bring them to scale, by first acknowledging that there are people that recovery services are not currently reaching, and we need to understand why. Modifying services like ACT and peer support to meet diverse needs may be an answer, but we as a movement of recovery-focused individuals may also have to address new solutions, particularly on engaging persons who are difficult to find and serve.
Engaging People in Mental Health Treatment and Recovery
Paolo del Vecchio, M.S.W.; 5/13/2014
Despite advances in treatment, only about one-third of Americans who experience mental illness seek mental health services. SAMHSA’s 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found the reasons people did not receive mental health services included social, cultural, and political factors (e.g., discrimination and prejudice), economic factors (limited insurance coverage, costly co-pays), system-level factors (e.g., access, quality of care), and personal and familial factors (e.g., varying health beliefs):
The Affordable Care Act and new parity protections are expanding mental and substance use disorder benefits to 60 million Americans. This historic expansion of insurance coverage, the integration of mental health and addiction services into community health centers and continued support for programs that treat the most serious mental illnesses will help make treatment more affordable and accessible.
Also, current and future anti-discrimination campaigns may lessen the prejudicial and discriminatory beliefs and practices that continue to make mental health care a last resort for many persons and families in distress. Even so, there remains much work to be done in ensuring that every American who experiences mental illness can and will gain timely access to effective treatments and supports that are available.
Of considerable concern are individuals with serious mental illnesses who have been offered mental health care, typically on more than one occasion, but who nonetheless disengage from the care offered. SAMHSA has begun efforts to identify and disseminate effective ways of conducting outreach and engagement efforts to link these individuals with needed treatments and services. Approaches such as Assertive Community Treatment teams, mental health literacy, family psycho-education, and peer-provided services have been shown to be effective. SAMHSA is working to bring these and other approaches to scale by convening expert panels to help identify practice guidelines for evidence-based engagement practices so that people who experience mental illness can start and sustain their journeys of recovery.